I help companies turn communities into products that really work – not just noisy (or noiseless) forums, support sinks, or “nice-to-have” side projects.
I’ve spent over 10 years leading and growing global communities, and owning the products behind them, working with WordPress, Apache, Discourse, CNCF, and more.
I offer practical, opinionated help for teams where community matters.
What I do
I’ll help you uncover the true power of your community, helping you turn it into your most marketable and powerful product. I’ll help you:
- Clarify the role your community plays in your product and business.
- Diagnose why engagement stalls, contribution drops, or trust erodes.
- Improve UX, engagement loops, and governance without burning out volunteers.
- Help founders and product leaders make hard calls with confidence.
What I help with
To go into a little more detail, here are some of my focus areas and the ways I can help you create a powerful product community.
Community product clarity
- Is your community a growth engine, a support sink, or just…vibes?
- Clear articulation of purpose, success metrics, and trade-offs
- Practical roadmaps that connect community health to product outcomes
UX + engagement audits
- Where users get stuck, confused, or disengaged
- Why contribution doesn’t scale (and how to fix it)
- Concrete recommendations, not abstract frameworks
Founder & leadership advisory
- Pressure-testing community strategy before it becomes expensive
- Navigating open-source, volunteer, and power dynamics without blowing trust
- Making hard calls between “nice for the community” and “necessary for the product”
Rescue work
- When engagement drops, moderators burn out, or forums turn hostile
- Calm diagnosis, fast prioritisation, and a path forward
How it works
Community product audit
2–3 weeks. Fixed scope. Fixed price. You get a written assessment, clear priorities, and next steps your team can actually execute.
Advisory retainer
An optional few hours a week to think with you, unblock decisions, and keep things pointed in the right direction, or even to assist in hiring the right people to keep your community strategy going.
No fluff. No decks for deck’s sake. You work directly with me.
Why choose me
- Former software engineer – I understand constraints, not just outcomes.
- Led communities with millions of users and thousands of volunteers.
- Shipped the products that supported those communities.
- Comfortable operating between execs, engineers, and contributors.
If your product has a community, or is one, I can help.
Get in touch
Interested in turning your community into your most powerful product? Let’s chat!
